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Pain and health-related quality of life (HRQoL): a national observational study in community-dwelling older adults

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Abstract

Purpose

Regarding the epidemiology of pain in older adults, data are lacking about the association between pain severity and its impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study was aimed to investigate pain prevalence and sites, self-reported interferences with daily life activities, and the effect of pain severity on HRQoL in a Swiss community-dwelling population aged ≥ 65 years.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional survey conducted with a national sample of individuals randomly selected from population records, stratified by age and gender. Respondents answered a face–face interview addressing pain location, intensity and interferences, and quality-of-life variables. Logit regression models were applied for binary outcomes, linear regression for continuous outcomes, and Poisson regression for count outcomes. For each analysis, Wald Chi square and 95% confidence intervals were used.

Results

Among the 2995 individuals considered, 36.4% reported pain. The results indicate that pain prevalence and intensity increased from age 80 onwards. Pain intensity was strongly associated with functional health, i.e., all scales involving physical activities were affected in individuals reporting severe pain; it was also associated with the individuals’ perception of their overall HRQoL.

Conclusion

Our results point to the importance of devoting attention to pain intensity rather than to the number of pain sites. Because of the demographic transition, the management of pain problems should emphasize early referral and timely treatment to prevent the burden of disease and functional loss associated with pain intensity.

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Acknowledgements

The data were made available by the Individual Project No. 13 of the National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES (Project No. 125770) and the Sinergia Project (Swiss National Foundation (SNF) No. CRSII1-129922), both funded by the SNF. The funders had no role in study design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. We also thank Pro Senectute Switzerland and the following local authorities for their logistic support: The Département de la solidarité et de l’emploi and the Département des affaires régionales, de l’économie et de la santé du Canton de Genève; The Département de la sécurité, des affaires sociales et de l’intégration and the Département des finances, des institutions et de la santé de l’Etat du Valais; and The Dipartimento della sanita e della socialita del Canton Ticino.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of General Medical Rehabilitation, Geneva University Hospitals, University of Geneva, 4 Rue Gabrielle Perret-Gentil, 1211, Geneva 14, Switzerland

    Christine Cedraschi, A. F. Allaz & C. Luthy

  2. Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Multidisciplinary Pain Centre, Geneva University Hospitals, University of Geneva, 1211, Geneva 14, Switzerland

    Christine Cedraschi

  3. School of Health Sciences, Geneva, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland, 1206, Geneva, Switzerland

    C. Ludwig

  4. Division of Geriatrics, Geneva University Hospitals, University of Geneva, 1226, Geneva, Switzerland

    F. R. Herrmann

Authors
  1. Christine Cedraschi
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  2. C. Ludwig
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  3. A. F. Allaz
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  4. F. R. Herrmann
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  5. C. Luthy
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christine Cedraschi.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical approval

All procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The protocol was primarily approved by the Central Ethical Committee of Canton Geneva, Switzerland. The study received subsequent multi-site ethical approval by the ethical committees of the Swiss cantons involved in the study.

Informed consent

Informed written consent was obtained for all participants in the study.

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Cedraschi, C., Ludwig, C., Allaz, A.F. et al. Pain and health-related quality of life (HRQoL): a national observational study in community-dwelling older adults. Eur Geriatr Med 9, 881–889 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41999-018-0114-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41999-018-0114-7

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